Personal Bests

A Look Back.

There is this awesome natural foods grocery store just a few blocks from my house that I run into from time to time to pick up something I need. I never do my weekly shopping there because the produce tends to be astronomically priced. A few weeks ago, week 30 to be exact, I was all ready to do my weekly pregnancy update when I realized I was lacking the required large butternut squash.

I headed down a few blocks to the store and grabbed the squash that looked the most baby-like (creepy, right?) and took it straight to the checkout counter. “That will be $9.66” says my cashier. I’m sorry, what? For one squash? Ten dollars seemed worth it to not have to get into the car and drive to another grocery store, and it was a HUGE squash, but I couldn’t help but think at the time, we will be making something extra delicious with this pricey squash…

Ten dollars turned out to be well worth it when this latest creation hit the dinner table. But first, another short story!

I had it all set in my head that I wanted to make enchiladas, and so I made a point to grab a jar of enchilada sauce at Trader Joe’s during last week’s shopping trip. And just like I always do when buying something new, I took a quick peek at the ingredients list just to make sure nothing scary was hiding in there.

One of the listed ingredients was “chicken-style base” which didn’t seem to list any actual animal products, but still threw me for a loop. I found myself dialing Casey for his opinion, and as I rattled down the list of 20+ ingredients, I realized perhaps – vegetarian or not – this sauce might be better homemade.

And so a two-part recipe was born, delicious enchiladas with a made-from-scratch enchilada sauce! Let’s start with the sauce, since that’s really what you’ll want to make first…

Toss squash with a bit of oil and salt, and spread evenly on a sheet pan. Roast for 45 minutes or until soft, stirring once during cooking.

While squash is cooking, this might be a good time to make your sauce! The squash should be slightly browned and very soft when finished.

Transfer cubes to a large mixing bowl and mash with a potato masher or a fork.

Set squash aside to cool. Dice onions and sauté until brown and soft. Add beans and cook for a minute or two until warmed.

Transfer beans and onions to the squash bowl, and then season with spices and salt. Spread 1 cup of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 glass baking dish. Scoop squash filling evenly onto tortillas and then loosely roll…

Place filled tortillas seam side down in the baking dish.

Top tortillas with the remainder of the enchilada sauce. Make sure to use a spatula to get the sauce all around the sides of the pan and in between each tortilla!

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. If you prefer, you can also top with cheese before baking, but we opted to eat ours naked.

Serve with a side of your favorite salsa for dipping. I chose salsa verde, mmmmm.

Roasting the butternut squash brings out a wonderful caramelized flavor, that when combined with onions, beans, and spices – make this dish a delicious addition to your dinner menu.

Oh man, I wish this recipe would have been up a few days ago! I have all these ingredients on hand and it looks great! Much better than the butternut squash I roasted and been eating plain…I’m just not a fan. Next time!

Nearly $10 for butternut?! I scoop it up in the winter when it’s .49 a pound, but I understand the need for artistic purposes. I will certainly be bookmarking this recipe, looks delish! Thank you for sharing the enchilada sauce recipe, I knew it couldn’t be hard to make, and didn’t like that the second ingredient in the store bought is sugar, but hadn’t bothered to research. Now I don’t have to!

That seems very wasteful and frivilous to spent $10 on a squash. While I can appreciate you want a squash for your weekly photos, I don’t think it was worth it at all to spend $10 on a squash when you could have driven a short distance to another store and bought one for a quarter of the price. While I’m well aware that I waste money at times too, it seems like a very silly excuse to spend that much on one vegetable, especially when there is no way it would have cost you that much in gas to go to another store.

Relax? Who said I wasn’t relaxed? I only saw something that I didn’t agree with decided to voice by opinion in what I thought was a respectful, non-attacking way. Emily is a big girl and also responded in a respectful way.

You are the one that had to come to Emily’s defense with a point that makes no sense at all just because someone chose to disagree with her. Perhaps you are the one who maybe needs to relax.

10 dollar squash – that is wild! I’ve made a tempeh and veggie enchilada with homemade black bean sauce and it was a hit around the dining table – I’ll definitely be trying your version immediately! Thanks for sharing!

Yum! We made Mama Pea’s roasted veg & kale soup one night and had some kale, sweet potatoes and black beans left over– what’d we make? Enchiladas! I love the sweetness from the squash/sweet potatoes and they taste just as hearty as any meat-based dish might. Plus, way healthier!

I had no idea how easy it was to make enchilada sauce, I’ll definitely use your recipe next time. I cannot believe the price of that squash! Unless someone was hired specifically to sing it a lullaby every night while it was growing, I just can’t account for it being $10.

YUM! Can’t wait to try this! By the way, I haven’t commented yet, but found your blog about a month ago and have been slowly going through the archives. Love your blog and story, Emily! I’ve especially found your race recaps helpful when I’m lacking on motivation to run. So thanks! :) And since this is almost like a “catch-up” comment: congrats on your baby and love the nursury!!

Those look amazing! Home-made anything is always better than store-bought. Especially since you noticed the possibility of an animal product in the item at the store. Eeek! A good reminder to always check the ingredients.

Ha ha ha. wow, $10 for a sqaush. I paid 2 bucks for mine today. I totally would nothave been able to pay for that one. So the sauce did not give you acid reflux? I try anything tomato based now and I get severe heartburn. GOod looking recipe though!

i think i’ve joined the check-ingredients-like-a-madwoman group… i went to the dressing aisle a few weeks ago to pick up a light balsamic vinaigrette, and picked up two just to compare. i thought i knew which one i wanted, and then i found things like fish oil, fish something-else… i can’t remember what it was, but i assume it was a thickener of sorts. why would you even consider doing that to an unassuming product like oil and vinegar dressing?? it was pretty sad for me. the other dressing was excellent, though.

Hahaha I have definitely had things like $10 squash happen to me too! And I totally understand occasionally just going with it.
I would have been suspicious of the chicken-style too.
This recipe looks great — I just made your zucchini pasta with mushroom + tomato sauce the other day. So freaking good. :)

I love that this doesn’t have cheese in it, I wouldn’t have been daring enough to try an enchilada without it on my own, but I’m going to have to try this recipe. Do you have a recommendation on shells? I feel like I spend 20 minutes checking labels of the shells everytime I go to the store. As soon as I find an brand that is realatively healthy, it seems to not be there again :(

These look so, so delicious! I’ve never had butternut squash and black beans together in a recipe, but my mom made some awesome black bean and sweet potato burritos once that probably have a similar taste.

That was one expensive squash…I hate the sticker shock that comes with fresh produce…I paid $12 for a bag of cherries the other day. Yikes.

I did the same thing you did when I picked up enchilada sauce at TJ’s– I read the ingredients and put it back on the shelf! Thanks for demystifying enchilada sauce– it looks easy enough to make! Also, your recipe, as usual, looks delicious, and I truly wish I could pull it through the screen right now and devour it!!!

This recipe looks awesome, can’t wait to try when squash is in season. Quick question…is there any reason why you couldn’t roast the squash in the peal, and the scrape it out after–it just seems that this would be easier and take less time.

ok this recipe is going on my fall to make list. i love b-nut squash. but you poor thing $10??? even at our local organic stands I’ve never paid more than $2 for one. they are incredibly easy to grow, so I can’t see justification for that price, unless there was a golden ticket inside. :|

One thing about going vegan (&gf) that I always missed was enchiladas when eating out. Sub out the flour for a different flour (& use different wraps, brown rice maybe) & this could work. I have never used butternut squash (only SP) but this sounds amazing.

This recipe looks so delicious.
You should think about one day adding your recipes from your summer on the farm to your recipage, if it’s not too much trouble. I had to dig a little bit to find one of them which I made last year and knew was delicious (quinoa zucchini boats).

Sometimes I pay a lot for organic products (fruits/vegetables) and to be honest I don’t care cause it’s worth it, has a 99% vegetarian, I realise that I save a lot by not buying meet anyway… Seems like a really interesting recipe and original !

I just made this recipe….at first I thought it looked almost too simple but it was totally full of flavor!! My friend actually equated the satisfying texture with meat! I followed the recipe and topped with a little crumbled cotija cheese before baking and some scallions and cilantro after. Really loved how the cinnamon and savory spices played together. Cannot wait for the leftovers!!!

YUM! While I’m excited for the enchilada recipe, I’m actually most excited about the sauce recipe. I always cringe at the ingredient list on the back of the enchilada sauce bottle, but I have never attempted to make my own before. Now that I see how easy it is, I have no excuse. Thanks for the motivation.

total sabotage! 10 butternut squash! but on the bright side, you made a great dish!! can’t wait to try it out! i too make my own enchilada sauce. much better and tastier…canned ones have some weird names on the ingredients list usually!

Emily, you have done it again!! I don’t know how many of your recipes I have made now!!

Yesterday I made the ench. sauce, but cut back on tom. paste b/c I didn’t purchase enough. I like the sauce thinner anyhow and will make it the same way in the future. I cut back by half if you are curious :)

I also made enchiladas and used your spice mix to saute the onion and then add the black beans. However, I used SoyCurls, sauteed in nooch, Braggs, onion powder, chili powder, and salt. I put both inside WW TrJoe’s tortillas and topped with Nacho Daiya. They were a huge hit at the family gathering my husband and I have on the first Friday of each month. I only cook vegan entrees (as a staunch vegan!), so I am always stoked when the fam. loves my, ahem your, meals.

I made these today, and they turned out great! I subbed corn tortillas for the flour (since that just seems like what enchiladas should use), used pumpkin instead of butternut squash, and added some heat. It turned out fabulous. I think this is THE answer to vegan enchiladas. I usually do roasted vegetable, but I like them better with cheese. I don’t think cheese would have added anything to this!

I tried your Enchilada sauce this weekend and it was a huge hit! I made the recipe exactly as you wrote but instead of stove top, I made it in our Vitamix blender. Worked perfectly! My husband told me it was fresh, rich and delish. His co-workers thought it smelled great too!! Thanks for a wonderful recipe!

[...] homemade sauce absolutely made the enchiladas. The recipe is by Emily from Daily Garnish and you must try [...]

Linda &nbsp &nbsp at 5:16 am

Bought butternut squash at our local farmers market and then found your recipe! Loved making the enchilada sauce from scratch. We love chipoltel chili powder for its smoky taste so I did 2.5 T chili powder and 1/2 T chipoltel powder. We like corn tortillas but they are hard to roll into enchiladas so I layered them over the enchilada sauce, spread out the squash mixture, and added another layer or tortillas and then the sauce. Sliced perfectly into squares for serving.
Love your blog!!

I made these tonight. They were so, so good. I’m excited about eating the leftovers. And I love that I now know that Mexican food can be excellent without cheese (because I’m trying to stay away from dairy as much as possible).